Harvey Milk/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life starring Tim and Moby. A bouncy pop song plays over a montage of scenes of everyday life in San Francisco, California, including a picnic at the Golden Gate Bridge, seals at Pier 39, and cable cars. Tim and Moby walk past the Castro Theatre. Tim is examining a tourist map. TIM: Let's see. What's next on our tour of classic San Francisco sites? MOBY: Beep. Moby points at the theater. TIM: Oh, right. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, we celebrate Harvey Milk Day at my school. Can you make a movie about him? From, Brandon (Sacramento, California). Hey, Brandon. People celebrate Harvey Milk Day all across California on May 22nd. He was an iconic leader of the gay rights movement in the 1970s. An animation shows two high school students hanging Harvey Milk Day posters in their school's hallway. TIM: Today, he's honored as a pioneer in the fight to end discrimination against the entire LGBT community. An image shows a rainbow flag. Text on the flag reads: LGBT. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. The letters LGBT move to the side of the flag and form the beginnings of the words lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. TIM: Some people prefer the broader term "queer." That includes anyone who isn't heterosexual, and all members of the LGBT community. A large letter Q appears, surrounding the letters L, G, B, and T. TIM: Together, the community identifies as LGBTQ plus. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in the U.S. He served as a local representative in San Francisco, but his outspoken style earned him national attention. An animation shows Harvey Milk speaking through a megaphone to a large, cheering crowd. TIM: So, every year on his birthday, California students honor him the way we do other civil rights pioneers, people like Susan B. Anthony, Cesar Chavez, and Martin Luther King. Images show Milk, Anthony, Chavez, and King. TIM: Teachers and students discuss current obstacles to LGBT equality. They explore how Milk used community organizing to protest and to fight for change. And discuss ways to combat homophobia, negative attitudes about people who identify as LGBT. An animation shows a teacher lecturing to a class about the civil rights figures Tim named. MOBY: Beep. TIM: I, I don't know if I could ever explain why. But in some environments, LGBT folks are cast as abnormal, or even immoral. These ideas were widespread in the 1940s, when Milk was growing up. An animation shows a teenage Harvey Milk, standing in a high school hallway with two other male students. He is wearing a letterman's sweater and holding a football under his arm. TIM: Back then, being gay meant living in the shadows. Coming out, or sharing that part of your identity, usually led to rejection by your friends and family. You could be fired from your job, kicked out of your home, even jailed. An animation shows the teenage Milk standing alone, surrounded by symbols representing friends, family, a job, and a home. As Tim mentions each one, the symbol disappears. When they are all gone, jail bars appear over Milk. TIM: It wasn't until the 1970s that things really began to change. MOBY: Beep. TIM: At the time, the community had made some huge political strides. Cities across the country began to pass laws protecting LGBT citizens. A map shows the United States. An image of civil rights legislation appears over the map. TIM: Openly gay people, like Kathy Kozachenko, were elected to public office. A newspaper's front page announces Kozachenko's election. TIM: And the first pride parades were giving the community a bigger presence. An image shows a black-and-white photo of a Gay Pride parade. One of the participant's signs reads: NYC Gay Liberation Day, 1970. TIM: But the progress didn't come without fierce opposition. Another part of the photo shows people shouting at the parade participants, making thumbs-down gestures. TIM: One of the worst backlashes was in Miami, Florida. In 1977, the city had made it illegal to fire someone or deny them housing based on their sexual orientation. A group called Save Our Children quickly organized to repeal the new law. They claimed that gay men were secretly planning to recruit kids. An animation shows a television image of a Save Our Children spokesperson addressing reporters. A banner behind the speaker reads: Save Our Children from Homosexuality. TIM: They even launched attack ads on TV and in newspapers. MOBY: Beep. TIM: They were successful in the short-term. Miami repealed its gay rights law. A newspaper headline reads: Gay Law Repealed in Miami. TIM: But their victory was a wake-up call to the LGBT community. It motivated people to finally take a stand and speak out. Harvey Milk became one of the key figures in this struggle. He led a massive march across San Francisco the night Miami repealed its law. Pulling people from restaurants and street corners, he rallied thousands to his cause. An animation shows a march for gay rights. Harvey Milk holds a megaphone and a newspaper as he walks. Another marcher holds a sign that reads: Walks for Gay Rights. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Milk had run for local office in San Francisco three times before. An animation shows a younger Milk on a downtown sidewalk, handing out campaign fliers to passersby. TIM: He'd never been able to gather enough support to win. But the Miami march increased his exposure, and in 1978, he was elected to the city council. An animation shows Milk standing in front of the San Francisco City Hall, holding hands with two other city council members. TIM: Under Milk's influence, the council passed a new regulation. You could no longer be fired or denied housing based on your sexual orientation. An animation shows Milk at his desk in his city council office. Two symbols appear over the desk, representing losing your job and not getting a home. TIM: But ensuring legal protection was just part of Milk's mission. His larger goal was to instill a sense of pride in the LGBT community. MOBY: Beep. TIM: For Milk, the first step was to come out from hiding. Members of the LGBT community didn't look different from anyone else. So many chose to hide their sexual identity instead of risking social rejection. It was just easier to pretend to be straight. An animation shows Milk in a Navy uniform, standing in a line with other naval enlistees on the deck of an aircraft carrier. Their supervisor walks past them, and they all salute in unison. TIM: Milk himself had struggled with this same issue. MOBY: Beep. TIM: When he was in the Navy, his supervisors tried to pry into his private life. In order to protect his secret, Milk resigned his position. An animation shows Milk standing in front of his supervisor, who is seated at a desk. Milk removes his hat, sets it on the desk, and leaves the room. TIM: The episode helped him realize things would never change if gay people remained invisible. He came to see announcing his sexual identity as an act of defiance. Or as he put it, "coming out is the most political thing you can do." An animation shows Milk standing in front of the San Francisco City Hall, holding hands with two other city council members. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Milk's main opponent in this area was California senator John Briggs. He had organized Proposition 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative. An animation shows John Briggs at his desk, composing Proposition 6. TIM: If it passed, the law would ban gay and lesbian people from teaching in public schools. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Milk drew on all his resources to protest the bill. In interviews, he used humor and charm to counteract Brigg's fear-mongering. An animation shows Milk and Briggs debating each other in a public forum. Briggs is angry, smoke coming out of his ears. Milk smiles cheerily. TIM: At that year's Pride Parade, he encouraged people to carry signs listing their hometowns. An animation shows marchers holding signs naming towns and cities. TIM: He wanted to show how far they'd traveled to live in a more open, accepting community. That's where the rainbow pride flag made its debut, by the way. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Milk's crusade caught the attention of other high-profile politicians. California's governor and President Jimmy Carter both opposed Prop 6. So did future president Ronald Reagan An animation shows Governor Jerry Brown,President Carter, and President Reagan standing in front of a rainbow flag. TIM: It ended up losing by a million votes. An image shows a newspaper's front page. Its headline reads: Prop Six, Deep Sixed. TIM: Milk was well on his way to becoming a prominent figure in national politics. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Tragically, after just 10 months in office, he was assassinated. A former city supervisor, Dan White, shot Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone. A San Francisco Chronicle headline reads: City in Agony. TIM: They were both killed. It was a somber day as citizens mourned across San Francisco. An animation shows the camera shop, Castro Camera, owned and run by Milk. Mourners place flowers on the sidewalk in front of the shop. A man reads the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper story, looking sad. MOBY: Beep. TIM: White had severe emotional problems. He blamed Milk for his own career failures and opposed Milk's agenda for LGBT rights. An image shows Dan White standing in front of City Hall with Milk and other city council members. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Milk knew that his high profile and strong voice would make him a target, but he was prepared to die for his beliefs. In the months before his death, he was helping to organize a major protest. Though he didn't live to see it, the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights launched the issue onto the national stage. An image shows marchers at the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yep. These days his name is on buildings, roads, even a postage stamp. Images show a municipal building, a street sign that reads: Harvey Milk Boulevard, and a postage stamp with Milk's picture on it. TIM: The Supreme Court has affirmed the right of same-sex couples to marry. An image shows the Supreme Court building with an equality sign over it. TIM: And the same United States Navy that chased Milk out in the 1950s now has a ship named after him. An image shows a battleship. MOBY: Beep. Moby and Tim are standing in front of a municipal building, looking up at a rainbow flag. TIM: Yeah, you can see why that flag became such a potent symbol. It's bright, positive, and impossible to ignore. It's like saying, "After years of whispering, now we're going to shout." Gilbert Baker, the flag's designer, says he was inspired by Harvey Milk. An animation shows a rainbow flag waving in the wind. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts